His lips curved again and her eyes stuck to them. He was a handsome man, not in the same way that Mark had been though. Zack was built from weights that weren’t found in a gym, and his skin suggested he’d never seen the inside of a beautician’s unless he was buying vouchers for his mum.
“I’m good. I’m not taking your wine when you’re clearly not opening it. You’re a shit liar, Sorrell,” Zack said. “I’ll have cheesecake though. Never let my brothers in by the way. If they know you bake, you won’t ever get them to leave.”
“Thanks for the head’s up. I’m hoping to bake for the guests when we finally open. And maybe appoint a chef to start up a little restaurant in the old annex.”
Zack nodded. “That’d be a good space for that. Why aren’t you getting married anymore? I heard this place had been bought by a couple.”
“We’re not a couple any longer,” she said, cutting a piece of the cheesecake and passing it to Zack on a plate with a fork. “He’s not coming back.”
“So you bought this place together and were getting married and now you’re not? That seems a little… drastic?” Zack said, accepting the plate.
Sorrell cut a large piece for herself. She’d lost weight, not that she had been trying. And the weight had pretty much come right off her boobs. She’d like them back, thank you very much, and it gave her a good excuse to eat sugar.
“He started seeing someone else. And left.” She tasted the cheesecake with the tip of her tongue and saw Zack watching her. “I think the idea of us being together and doing all the adulting shit had started to scare him.”
Zack nodded, saying nothing and she couldn’t read his expression.
“At least he went sooner rather than later,” she said, filling the silence. “I’ve had total autonomy which has kind of made things easier.”
“But you’re on your own in a town where you don’t know anyone,” he said, after inhaling the cheesecake. “That’s shit for a start. Although you could be in worse towns.”
Sorrell nodded. “I’ve met a few people. Keren’s lovely. Do you know her?”
Zack laughed again. She liked his laugh. It made his whole face break out into something joyful that made her want to smile too.
“I’m from Severton, sweetheart. We all know each other here. Me and Keren went to school together. Now she’s my dentist and I’ll probably see her soon—Jonny’s kids will probably need taking to her after they’ve eaten all that sugar,” he said. “I take it you’re one of her patients?”
Sorrell quickly swallowed, aware that she had cheesecake crumbs around her mouth. “First day here—I had a filling fall out.”
He nodded, smiling. “That’s how most people meet Keren. A few of the locals won’t actually go near her when they see her out in town. Bad memories and all that.”
“Poor Keren,” Sorrell said. She didn’t have a fear of the dentist and as she’d had a run in with Mark over the phone that morning, she’d been more angry about that than the tooth. Keren had translated Sorrell’s threats and cursing while she worked and the two had ended up going for drinks that evening, once the numbness had worn off. “Keren’s been a good friend, actually. She hasn’t told me too much about the people who live in this town though.” Which Sorrell supposed was strange, given that Severton was a labyrinth of characters and histories, and she hadn’t even skated over the surfaces of that labyrinth.
“Keren’s a good person, unless you ask Scott. Then she’s the devil with a pair of pliers,” Zack said.
“Bad teeth?”
“Bad chemistry.”
“Oh.” Sorrell gave him a smile, putting her plate down. “She never said anything about him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Zack said. “Ask her. Then maybe let me know her side, because I’ve never had a straight story out of him.” One side of his mouth curled upwards and Sorrell planted her feet further into the floor to stop herself from walking closer to him.
“Girl code states I wouldn’t be able to,” she said. “Look, I’ve over-baked. Can I bring some to your care home on Saturday? There’s no way me and my friend will finish all this.”
“The builders will help,” he said as he looked around the room at the piles of cakes and muffins.
“I’m so sorry again. I should’ve thought. But I meant what I said about using here for Christmas dinner. It won’t be a problem,” Sorrell said.
Zack’s arms crossed his chest again and she saw muscles tense beneath his shirt. He shook his head and looked up to the ceiling. “Look, I hate apologising, although I should be used to it because of all the shit Sadie Grace does, but I’m sorry about being a jerk to you. I get that you have a livelihood to think of. And thank you for the offer for letting us use here for Christmas. I suspect we’ll take you up on it.”
It was like her lungs had been gently pierced, letting the air slip out and her shoulder sag. Pissing people off was not her game, but she knew that running a hotel on her own would mean she couldn’t be little miss nice all the time else she’d never succeed.
Zack picked up his vampire cape from where he’d left it. “You need a proper induction to Severton. What are you doing on the fifth?”
“Bonfire night?”
He nodded. “Yep. Bonfire night.”
